Midge bits and antihistamine cream - who knew this already?!

[roisin]

Midges cause huge problems in my family because they rarely bite dh at all and even if they do he doesn't react. So he has no sympathy for us at all.

If I get bitten or the kids it doesn't hurt at first, but comes up as a red dot about 4mm wide.

A few hours later it becomes unbearably itchy, becomes a much wider raised red bump, and a ring of white skin around that.

Anyway in my new first aid kit I had some antihistamine cream, so when the midges had lunched on me before I'd had chance to get the repellant stuff out and my legs and arms looked like a polka dot princess, I dabbed a dot of a/h cream on each of the bites; then again 12 hrs later.

The bites I treated (within 1 hour) have not reacted at all, and are not itchy. But the ones I missed have reacted in the normal (unbearable) way.

if you have no other health problems, I usually recommend to my clients to take vitamin B1 at times when they are likely to be biten. B1 fends off biters, not sure how, either by smell, (no smeel that humans can smell) reflection or something else, but it wors in 80% of cases. when I go abroad, I take a large dose B1 for 2 weeks before , during the stay and for another week after, since doing this I have been biten once only!!

I knew! Glad you've found something thjat works though

hydrocortisone cream even better
take antihistamine tab straight away

my bites have come up in red infected areas, plus nice swollen area surrounding it that's as big as my outstretched hand

nice

the anti-histamone trick sounds good,although you need to be on you toes to keep up with them

Vit b1 sounds good-can you buy that over the counter misi?

I got one of those mossie-bite zappers to use. It's quite good at stopping the itching esp the ones on hands/feet which can drive me insane. We try not to get bitten because of the malaria risk where we live but there's always one that gets through. They give dh a wide berth, annoyingly!

Misi, do you have any trial results re the Vit B1? I read recently that eating Marmite to keep midges away was futile advice but wonder if actual B1 is useful?

ggirl, yes you can buy B1 over the counter as its classed as a food supplement but I would go to a health shop to get a good wquality organic variety as some brands in supermarkets are chemically derived and are quite weak. I use 100mg which is strong but the good thing is that as a B vit, it is water soluable so any excess is washed out of your body with.
suedonim, marmite is full od B vits but not in any great strength, you would have to eat a jar a day at least to get the effect!!

www.trace-elements.org.uk/vitb1.htm

I use solgar---- www.the-health-store.co.uk//modules/shop/view.asp?catid=6&Prodcode=E2950

you can get a 500mg if you are going on holiday ''tomorrow'' sort of thing but a 100mg for 2 weeks before hols is good.

100mg is about 7200% of your daily need but do not worry, B1 won't harm you in these quantities as the excess is washed away but you need these sorts of levels to buyild up your levels to what is needed. B1 as a bonus will also help brain function and many other things too

not sure about clinical studies, not got any on file but then I have never worried about this before. will have a trawl at some point

thanks misi

my db is plagued by mosquitos (he lives in Canada),will tell him to try this

nelsons ''pyrethrum'' spray is brilliant for stings and bites, stops the itching almost straight away for me

www.nelsons.net/Our-Products_Pyrethrum-Spray_pg49.aspx

forgot to add about the pyrethrum before, I use it on my son and his cousins all the time if they get bit or stung. don't like supplementing vits etc on kiddies, unless absolutely neccessary so I don't let them have the B1, it won't harm them just picky about kiddie supps thats all!!

Another tip is Avons So Soft moisuriser. For some reason they don't like it. It comes in spray form and doesn't smell too bad. They sell it by the crate load on the West Coast of Scotland, where there are hundreds of wee beasties!

This is the zapper I have. Zapper Click

Sorry, didn't mean to send that yet! I bought mine in Sainsbury's. It feels a bit like someone has finger-flicked you, a bit weird, but the relief from itching is wonderful.

these things are good, I sold loads in my old shop. I use them if I get a cactus spine in my finger too, which is often as I have one window sill full of cacti, so when I open and close the window, I get stuck, you would thought I would have learnt by now

Yeast tablets also keep them away. Midgies LOVE me but taking these stop the little beggers in their tracks. You also get lovely hair and good strong nails with them. My brother swears that smoking stops them biting but I am not starting up to find out.

Misi, are you a nutritionist-type person? I could do with some advice about diet/vitamins!

suedonim, yes I am but I can't diagnose or treat without consultatation face to face, its the law!!
but I can give generalised suggestions, I say this just so you know and I comply with my insurance and legal liabilities.

so what would you like to know

Misi. I'm a UK expat in Nigeria and my family's (me, dh and 12yo dd) diet is rubbish when we're out there due to the limited range of foods available. We eat little meat or dairy, (just cheese when I can get it) and fruit & veg is limited, plus anything eaten raw needs to be sterilised. I'm sure this must affect us as when I come home on leave I get a horizontal ridge on my nails like they're soaking up nutrients they've been deprived of for several months. So, I'd like a recommendation for a good multi-vitamin to take when we're there. We all take Malarone anti-malarial tablets. Also, dh has psioritic arthritis - any ideas for supplements to ease that? TIA!

Misi. I'm a UK expat in Nigeria and my family's (me, dh and 12yo dd) diet is rubbish when we're out there due to the limited range of foods available. We eat little meat or dairy, (just cheese when I can get it) and fruit & veg is limited, plus anything eaten raw needs to be sterilised. I'm sure this must affect us as when I come home on leave I get a horizontal ridge on my nails like they're soaking up nutrients they've been deprived of for several months. So, I'd like a recommendation for a good multi-vitamin to take when we're there. We all take Malarone anti-malarial tablets. Also, dh has psioritic arthritis - any ideas for supplements to ease that? TIA!

I'll have a look at some things and get back to you. not long got home with my son from his mum. just got his tea and then he will have a bath, read some and then bed.

suedonim,
can I ask a few questions?
are you black or white, born here or in nigeria. I ask this as there are differences in the digestive systems in different ethnicities and also where you were born and raised.

my main suggestion would be to improve your digestive response and allow your body to absorb and digest the nutrients you already get more efficiently. this is not to say a good multi vit won't be of use, it will do, but in looking at what would be best for you as multi vits vary greatly not only in content but also in price. I could recommend a multi vit that costs around £2 per pill per day or one that is much much less, some have virtually everything you can think of in the pill, others have not so many, so the above questions will get me started if thats ok?

White and UK-born, Misi. Using more of the available nutrients sounds good. Mind you, with all the tummy bugs out there, often food doesn't stay in the system very long at all! Oops, TMI

Forgot the 'raised' bit - also in UK.

yep, I knew that - I got bitten by a red ant once and saw the bastard do it so put anti-histamine cream straight on - no lumps. The problem with most mosquito/midgie bites is that you tend to not find them until yuo scratch them, by which time it's too late.

Having said that, I got some fab cream from a pharmacy in Italy that is sadly POM over here - worked brilliantly on Italian mozzie bites (zanzara = mosquito on Italian, lovely name for a most unlovely insect) but not so well on Australian ones, oddly